The Boat Is Full
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61% Critic Match

The Boat Is Full

6.1 / 10 1981 1h 41mNR German
DramaHistoryWar

Storyline

During World War II, Switzerland severely limited refugees: "Our boat is full." A train from Germany halts briefly in an isolated corner of Switzerland. Six people jump off seeking asylum: four Jews, a French child, and a German soldier. They seek temporary refuge with a couple who run a village inn. They pose as a family: the deserter as husband, Judith as his wife, an old man from Vienna as her father, his granddaughter and the French lad, whom they beg to keep silent, as their children. Judith's teenage brother poses as a soldier. The fabrication unravels through chance and the local constable's exact investigation. Whom will the Swiss allow to stay? Who gets deported?

Cast & Crew

Tina Engel

Tina Engel

Judith Krueger

Lead
Hans Diehl

Hans Diehl

Hannes Krueger

Mathias Gnädinger

Mathias Gnädinger

Franz Flueckiger

Curt Bois

Curt Bois

Lazar Ostrowskij

MW

Martin Walz

Olaf Landau

IB

Ilse Bahrs

Mrs. Ostrowskij

GD

Gerd David

Karl Schneider

S

Simone

Gitty

What People Are Saying

3.0
A staggering achievement of craft and ambition. Markus Imhoof's vision lands with breathtaking precision.
Manohla Dargis, The New York Times
3.0
Every frame feels alive. The Boat Is Full is the rare release that takes its audience seriously.
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker